Talking With Cancer

Talking With Cancer: the podcast that does exactly that. In its conception it was two friends, Katie Phillips (cancer patient) & Clair Whitefield (not a cancer patient), just like the statistic, that “one in two of us will experience cancer in our lifetime”. And every week they would sit down and talk about what Katie was going through. The series has evolved since it was first launched in May 2022, and now Katie is updating listeners on her “cancer journey”, and interviewing guests who have been impacted by cancer in some way - professionally or personally.

In February 2022, at 43 years old and with no prior health issues or concerns, Katie was told that she had thyroid cancer. To be more specific, a rare type of thyroid papillary cancer known as hobnail, with a genetic mutation known as a "ROS1 fusion". The doctors said that her diagnosis was “rare” and “complicated” – not words that Katie wanted to hear in the same sentence.

In the early weeks following her diagnosis, she decided to keep an audio diary of her journey.

‘Talking With Cancer’ gives insight into Katie’s life with cancer, her treatment (at The Royal Marsden Hospital), and how she’s experiencing her world now that - in her own words - “everything has changed and nothing has changed”.

The episodes can often be poignant and hard-hitting, but with Katie’s can-do, positive outlook towards life with cancer, the conversations are always cathartic, inspiring, and more often than not, very funny too.

Whether it’s tackling the more challenging topics that arise, or the lighter moments encountered on the journey – “never moisturise before an echocardiogram” – each week, the podcast offers something for everyone, as we are all, in some way, affected by cancer.

Have a listen. You might learn something, understand a little more about living with cancer than you did before and hopefully you’ll have a giggle too.